2021 Annual General Meeting of Wagner's Holding Company Limited. My name is Denis Wagner, and I'm the Chairman of Wagner's Holding Company. On behalf of the board and staff of the company, it's my absolute pleasure to welcome all of our shareholders attending this meeting today, both those who are here in person and those who are taking advantage of the technology and joining online through the Lumi online platform.
This allows shareholders, proxies, guests to attend the meeting virtually. All attendees can watch the live webcast of this meeting, and shareholders and proxy, proxies have the ability to ask questions and submit votes. Pursuant to Rule 16.7(b) of the company's constitution, I'm advised that a quorum for a general meeting is present, so I now declare this annual general meeting open at 10:00 A.M.
Let me begin by introducing my fellow directors, John Wagner, Ross Walker, both non-executive directors, and obviously with us here today. Lynda O'Grady is also a non-executive director. Lynda is joining us online today, being unable to be here in person, given the current Queensland border restrictions. I would also like to introduce Cameron Coleman, our Chief Executive Officer, Fergus Hume, our Chief Financial Officer, and Karen Brown, our Company Secretary and General Counsel.
All here today, along with the Wagner's senior management team. Also with us today is BDO, the company's auditors, represented by Cameron Henry. McCullough Robertson, the company's legal advisors, represented by Reece Walker. Representatives of Computershare are also here to assist with any voting or registration requirements.
Before both myself and Cameron take you through a review of the financial year and provide an update on our outlook, I'll take you through some of the procedural aspects of today's meeting. Following the addresses, we'll take questions on each of the resolutions, allowing shareholders an opportunity to consider responses to those questions before voting.
At this meeting of Wagner's Holding Company Limited shareholders, only shareholders and their appointed proxies, corporate representatives or attorneys are entitled to make comment, ask questions or vote. All other attendees are welcome as observers. To participate in this meeting, you will need to enter your unique nine-digit meeting ID and accept the terms and conditions. To register as a security holder, select security holder or proxy and enter your SRN or HIN number and postcode or country code.
To register as a proxy holder, select security holder or proxy and enter your username and password. In the SRN or HIN field, enter your username. In the postcode or country code field, enter your password. To register as a guest, select guest and enter your name and email address. To view the webcast, you must tap the broadcast arrow on your screen and press the play button.
Shareholders joining us virtually can submit questions through the online meeting platform at any time from now. To ask a question, tap your messaging icon and at the bottom of that screen, you can type your question. Once you're finished typing, please press the arrow symbol to submit your question. It is not one of my strengths, but I'm sure I got that right. Shareholders wishing to ask questions verbally, you may need to pu...
You will need to pause the broadcast on the virtual platform and then click on the link under Asking Audio Questions. A new screen will open where you will be prompted to enter your name and the topic of your questions before being connected. You will be able to listen to the meeting on this page while waiting to ask your question. If you have any issues using this system, please return to the virtual platform and resubmit as a written question.
As indicated earlier, questions will be addressed during the consideration of each resolution. These questions will be moderated to avoid repetition, and if questions are particularly lengthy, we may need to summarize them in the interest of time. In the event that we run out of time to answer all the questions, we will respond to you separately after this meeting.
For those of you joining us online, I encourage you to submit your questions as soon as you can. For those of you in the room, feel free to ask questions at the appropriate time. All resolutions at today's meeting will be decided by a poll. In order to provide you with enough time to vote, I will shortly open voting for all resolutions.
If you're eligible to vote at this meeting and have logged into the online platform, a voting icon that looks like a bar graph will appear on your device or navigation bar. Once you click this, the resolutions will appear on your screen, and you can select a voting option. To cast your vote, simply select one of the options. There is no need to hit the Submit or Enter button, as the vote is automatically recorded.
Shareholders will have the ability to change their vote during the meeting and until I declare the polls closed. I will close the polls at the end of question time on resolution 2, so I encourage you to vote as soon as possible. If there is anyone here at the meeting in person who believes they are entitled to vote but is not registered to vote or is unable to vote through the online platform, please raise your hand and a member of Computershare will assist you.
We have hard copy voting cards available for those shareholders that are unable to vote online. I now declare voting open on all items of business. The polling icon will soon appear. Please submit your votes at any time. I'll give you a warning before I move to close voting.
Proxies have been received from 182 shareholders, representing 110,794,505 ordinary shares, being 59% of the company's issued share capital. I will advise you of the proxy votes for each resolution as each individual resolution is being discussed. If you appointed me as your proxy, I will vote the proxy according to your directions on the proxy form.
As the chairman of this meeting, I will vote all undirected proxies in favor of each resolution. As I mentioned, Cameron will be speaking to you in a moment. However, first, I would like to provide a short address. To our shareholders, stakeholders, ladies and gentlemen, it is great to have you here today.
This is one of the very few ASX-listed AGMs where we actually have an in-person meeting, as well as an online meeting, a hybrid meeting. I am pleased to be able to report to you today that the company has experienced a significant improvement in financial year 2021, following what was one of the most challenging periods in Wagner's' history.
While we do hope that period is behind us, business conditions still remain challenging and volatile, and we still have the threat of disruption to our industry due to COVID-19. We will continue to meet and overcome the challenges presented by the pandemic to ensure continuity of our business operations. I acknowledge the entire Wagner's team, who have adapted and embraced the changes in the way we now operate across our manufacturing facilities and project sites.
We have had to do this, firstly, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff, and secondly, to ensure that our business can continue to operate and grow, notwithstanding that we remain in the midst of a global pandemic. All levels of government in this country have plans to increase spending on infrastructure. We have benefited from many projects, including Cross River Rail.
Demand for our haulage services in Northwest Queensland and the Northern Territory remains strong and is growing, with new contracts also secured. This increased activity has driven a significant increase in our revenue on the prior period and resulting profit. Cameron will take you through the financial performance in more detail in his address. We have been focused on the expansion into international markets, both with our composite CFT products and our low-carbon concrete, EFC.
We have opportunities for these technologies in Europe, the USA, the UAE, and the U.K. markets. The markets have adopted and value more sustainable products and technologies that reduce carbon emissions. We are also involved in infrastructure projects that are being undertaken in the U.K. and opportunities across Europe. We have developed a number of strategic alliances to enhance the growth opportunities for EFC and have commissioned the production of plant and equipment, allowing for us to manufacture and dis-distribute our technology from a local U.K. manufacturing facility.
In FY 2021, we have invested over $ AUD 2 million in our low carbon concrete technology. With the increased spend focused on research and development to refine our technology and manufacturing efficiencies. We have also invested in business development to ensure we have a platform to deliver growth internationally and in Australia.
Composite Fibre Technologies similarly continued with its expansion into North America following disruptions last year with travel restrictions. The construction of our facility in Cresson, Fort Worth in Texas is almost complete. Sales of our products have increased substantially in the USA. When our first pultrusion machine is commissioned in the new facility, which will be before calendar year end, we will significantly increase output and efficiency.
In Australia, CFT has enjoyed success with the electrical infrastructure products, cross arms, light poles, and power poles. We have commissioned a new automated manufacturing facility which provides manufacturing efficiency and capacity increases. We've continued to invest in research and development for new product lines and manufacturing optimization. Within our CFT business, over AUD 4 million was invested into facilities, plant, and equipment in FY 2021, which positions the business well to deliver growth and efficiency well into the future.
We did not experience the level of government spending on infrastructure projects that align with our CFT products in FY 2021. However, the coming year does look far more positive. In June, we renewed our debt facilities with our financiers, HSBC and National Australia Bank. These facilities remain in place now through until July 2024. We have a positive outlook for the year ahead.
Our executive management team and staff of over 700 dedicated employees have set a solid platform for Wagner's continued growth. The market for construction materials should enjoy 10 years of prosperity, with infrastructure required for the 2032 Olympic Games. Housing in Queensland has been strong and in our view, will remain so for some time.
Large infrastructure projects such as Inland Rail are coming to fruition over the next couple of years, therefore giving us the opportunity to capitalize on our investments in our cement and concrete operations. The concrete market is still challenging in Southeast Queensland. The industry places no value on the principle of supply and demand. Supply for concrete is stretched in the Brisbane and Toowoomba markets, but when compared to the other metropolitan areas, it has not been reflected in the pricing regime.
We are seeing our customers, though, are less driven by price and placing more emphasis on quality and service. We do expect our haulage services business to remain strong well into the foreseeable future with new projects recently secured and a number of contracts extended over the last 12 months.
We've increased the level of investment in our low carbon technologies to allow us to accelerate the international expansion of both EFC and CFT and to ensure we are positioned to take advantage of the opportunities that currently exist to deliver growth. Coupled with the AUD 17.5 million invested throughout the year across the group, we have set a solid platform for FY 2022. As previously mentioned, we have significant growth aspirations for our low carbon concrete business, EFC.
We are seeing increased international demand for the technology. Therefore, the board is seeking an investment partner to assist with the growth of the technology in scaling up of the operational capacity in the identified global markets. If we are successful, it will result in two things. Firstly, it will give us the current market value of EFC today, establishing an underlying value.
Secondly, it will give us the capital to roll out the technology at a much faster pace. We will continue to keep our shareholders advised as this progresses. Irrespective of any third-party investment, the EFC strategy to expand into global markets will progress during financial year 2022.
I would like to acknowledge my fellow board members, our executive management team, and our workforce as a whole for the efforts and the commitment shown through the year. My thanks must also go to the other stakeholders in Wagner's, our customers, our shareholders, and our suppliers for your ongoing support and commitment to our business. I would now like to hand over to Cameron Coleman, our Chief Executive Officer. Thanks, Cameron.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Wagner's AGM for FY 2021, which has proven to be a much better year following an extremely challenging 2020. We've delivered a much better financial result, delivered on promises, and challenged ourselves through innovation, integration, and have strived to be a truly international business, ensuring we continue to deliver value to all of our stakeholders. From a financial perspective, on a consolidated basis, the group achieved a 28% increase in revenue, finishing the year at AUD 323 million.
The EBIT result of AUD 25 million and the NPAT of AUD 10 million were both a significant improvement on FY 2020. In our construction materials and services business, we have benefited from the increased construction activity in Southeast Queensland. We have experienced growth across each of the individual business units, cement and fly ash, precast, bulk haulage, concrete, reinforcing steel, and quarry operations.
Our cement and concrete volumes have increased with the expansion and maturity of our fixed concrete plant network. In addition to the Southeast Queensland construction activity, the resources sector has also continued to provide enormous opportunities for the group, particularly in our bulk haulage and contract crushing operations.
This activity drove a revenue result for our Construction Materials and Services business of AUD 288 million, and an EBIT of AUD 33 million, a significant improvement on last year. There was also continued capital invested in this business throughout the year to service existing and new contracts, ensuring we remain well-positioned to deliver on our future growth expectations.
While the construction materials and services business made a significant contribution to the result for FY 2021, our CFT business was impacted by the lack of committed spending and activity on pedestrian infrastructure, road, bridge, and marine structures due to COVID-19. While our EBIT result for CFT of AUD 2.7 million was down on the prior period, we are seeing a turnaround in this market.
On a positive note, the crossarms business experienced growth along with realizing the benefits of production efficiencies following significant capital investment into manufacturing automation and optimization. In terms of investment in CFT throughout the year, we've expanded our facilities in Southeast Queensland, and are in various stages of design and construction for the further expansion of our facilities and manufacturing capability at Wellcamp. We purchased a site to establish our manufacturing facility in the USA.
The construction of the factory is almost complete, and our team are busy installing our first pultrusion machine, which will see us manufacturing pultrusion in the coming months. We've continued to invest in research and development to develop both new product lines and product efficiencies, ensuring the continued growth and international expansion of this business. We talk about innovation at Wagner's, and our low-carbon concrete business is evidence of this.
This business has made significant progress this year with the sale and application of our technology internationally. The financial result for this business reflects the investment the group has committed to the development and rollout of the technology throughout the year. We will continue with this investment into this business as we expand globally, given the increasing demands for products like EFC that demonstrate genuine environmental benefits, reducing carbon emissions in the built environment.
There have been some significant achievements across the group in FY 2021, and some of these include the execution of our contract to manufacture the precast concrete tunnel segments to the Cross River Rail project. We've now completed our final segment, a significant result for this team. As our fixed concrete plant network matured and continued to grow throughout FY 2021, our cement, fly ash, quarry, and concrete delivery truck fleet also experienced growth.
We renewed two large bulk haulage service contracts in Northwest Queensland during the period, and we also secured and are currently delivering bulk haulage services to an extremely remote project in the Northern Territory. As I've mentioned, we have invested significantly into research and development across the business to ensure we are providing the most innovative and efficient solutions for our clients and customers.
We've developed new product lines in CFT, light and power poles, and new profiles for pultrusion, allowing a more diverse application of the product. We've increased automation and increased capacity in our manufacturing processes, providing significant benefits to the business. One of the more exciting things I'm pleased to be able to report is that throughout the year, we have genuinely established ourselves as an international provider of Composite Fibre Technologies and Earth Friendly Concrete.
As I mentioned earlier, our CFT manufacturing facility in Texas is now under construction. The establishment of this facility will allow us to manufacture locally in the U.S. We've deployed staff from Australia, and they are currently installing all of the equipment required to commence production. This year, we've also seen significant global traction in the EFC business.
We've experienced genuine demand through the U.K. and Europe from a number of developers and asset owners who understand the environmental benefits our technology offers. As a result of the demand throughout the year, we have decided to scale up our operations internationally and establish a manufacturing facility in the U.K. As we have previously advised shareholders to further accelerate this, we are in the process of seeking third-party investment in the EFC business.
This will enable a rapid scale-up of operations throughout the U.K. and U.S. We have been encouraged by the level of interest in our technology. It's an exciting time to be in the construction sector right now, and we expect these conditions to remain for the balance of FY 2022, providing significant opportunities for this area of our business.
In summary, FY 2021 was clearly a significant improvement on FY 2020 and provides a great platform for Wagner's' future. Throughout the year, we invested in our people, research and development, and infrastructure, which will position us well for FY 2022 and beyond. Turning to the first quarter of FY 2022, as we had anticipated, the increased activity in the Southeast Queensland construction sector has continued, and volumes, particularly in our cement and concrete business, have remained strong.
The concrete sector is an extremely competitive environment, and therefore, the margins in this business remain under pressure. We remain committed to the rollout of our fixed concrete strategy despite these current market challenges. All of our sites and projects have continued to perform as expected, and tendering activity has remained strong.
We've had to increase our haulage fleet throughout this last quarter to service the haulage contracts we have in place. We've made significant investment into our haulage business, alleviating the dependence on subcontractors and ultimately increasing our margin. In our CFT business, we've seen a turnaround, with a number of projects secured in design phase and some now under construction. The uncertainty of border restrictions and lockdowns associated with COVID will remain challenging for CFT.
However, our business development team remains confident that we are well-placed to deliver on opportunities as they arise. Internationally, particularly in the U.S., we have a number of contracts secured and under manufacture. We look forward to being able to deliver these projects from our new facility in Texas once complete. Our low-carbon concrete business has continued to deliver to projects in Australia and internationally.
The last quarter has seen significant increase from end users of concrete wanting to switch to a product that demonstrates the carbon saving and other performance benefits that EFC provides. Product refinement, development, and certification for each of the relevant jurisdictions has also remained key throughout the period to ensure that we can deliver client requirements internationally.
We are excited by the international opportunities that the outlook provides in CFT and EFC, and we have a number of long-term contracts secured in our construction materials and services business, which will deliver value over many years to come. Wagner's' staff numbers also increased. Our global workforce now consists of over 700 employees spanning across 5 countries: Australia, New Zealand, U.K., U.S.A., and Malaysia. That's a 5% increase on last quarter and a 22% increase on FY 2020. This increase demonstrates the growth across the business.
On that note, I'd like to thank the whole Wagner's team who have supported the business through challenging times, yet demonstrated an absolute commitment to working together safely while remaining innovative, entrepreneurial, and committed to ensuring the long-term growth of the business. Thanks also to our board of directors for their guidance and continued support throughout the year. I'll now hand back to Denis to continue with the formal aspects of the meeting. Thank you.
Thanks, Cam. As the notice of meeting and explanatory memorandum have been circulated previously, and unless there is an objection, I propose to take them as read. The notice of meeting also sets out the voting restrictions for each resolution. The Corporations Act requires that the annual report of the directors, the auditors' report, and the financial report to be laid before the AGM.
Those reports were circulated and dated 25th of August 2021. Neither the Corporations Act nor the company's constitution requires a vote of shareholders at the AGM on the financial statements and reports. However, I now invite shareholders to comment or ask questions on the reports or the business of the company.
Questions may also be asked of the auditors about the conduct of the audit, the content of the audit report, accounting policies adopted by the company, and the independence of the auditor in carrying out the audit. Are there any comments or questions on the financial reports or the report of the directors and the auditors from the floor? No questions? You may not get another chance, so.
Two questions. One is I didn't hear any mention of when dividends are. Secondly, Mack trucks like the one you've got up in the picture there, the short haulage would be a dead set ringer for electrification. Have you got any plans in that area?
I'll answer the first part of that, the first question there, and I'll pass to Cameron for the second one. Dividends. We as a board decided this year not to declare a dividend. The reason for that was we were sort of unsure on what the future held as far as the economy goes, with the disruptions, with the pandemic, the state of the industry.
As it, you know, as it has turned out, we've come through both of those fairly well, although there is still a real question mark over where the economy will ultimately sort of take us. The decision that we took was really based on do we sort of conserve cash? We are pulling ahead head had,
We still intend to put a lot of money into investment in particularly the low carbon technologies, EFC and CFT. The construction materials business, there are always huge capital demands on that. The decision we took was, let's just conserve the cash, take a conservative approach. I think in the fullness of time, that will certainly put us in good stead. Cam, I'll pass over to you on the electrific ation.
Yeah, thanks. There's probably two parts to the answer here. One is we are very active in the hydrogen space, looking at a number of things there, not only in converting our trucks to hydrogen, but also looking at hydrogen storage with our composites business. The challenge we currently have with the hydrogen fuel cells is they are only just high enough horsepower to deliver the power requirements to run a concrete truck.
In actual fact, they're still a little underdone for that. They're ideal for buses and smaller trucks, and certainly our steel delivery trucks would qualify for a hydrogen-powered cell. That is something we are in discussions with various manufacturers about and are very happy to do a trial.
In fact, one of our truck suppliers does have a hydrogen-powered truck coming into Australia in the coming months. We've put our hand up to be the client that actually trials that truck in all sorts of applications. Hydrogen is front of mind for us and something that we are investigating. John Stark, one of our Chief Operating Officers, is leading the charge on that. It's certainly front of mind for us.
The other thing we're watching is the Mack product does have a very successful electric concrete delivery truck just being launched in the U.S., and that's something we're also watching closely. It's front of mind, but I think for us, given the horsepower we require to move the loads we move, it's still a little way off, but we're watching it closely.
Is this the third AGM we've announced the opening in Fort Worth? [Raw transcript] Rather than have to announce it next year as well, there'll be some way of communicating with shareholders that it actually does open and does exist.
John, I'll correct you somewhat there. It's not the third time we've announced the opening of it. It may be the third AGM we've actually spoken about it. This year we are announcing that it is actually built. There is a shed and but I don't suppose we can put up a picture. Maybe not. Yeah. The facility in Cresson. Cresson is about 20 minutes drive from the center of Fort Worth. The facility at Cresson is a freehold block of land that we purchased 12 months ago. It's about 12 acres, I think. 12 acres in area.
We have built a shed the same as one of our sheds out at the Wellcamp composite facility, and the plans for that facility are to mirror image what we do here in Toowoomba. We currently have four sheds operating out there, and they're large sheds. They're 65 meters long by 25 meters wide, so they're about 1,500-1,600 sq m each shed.
We currently have four buildings, you know, operating at Wellcamp. The fifth is under construction and will be completed before the end of this year. There is a bit of a race between Toowoomba and the U.S. as to who gets their pultrusion machine going first. The first shed that we built at Cresson is the same as we're building in Toowoomba. We do intend to mirror image Toowoomba in Texas.
It is happening, third time we've spoken about it, but it's real.
Share the pictures.
Right.
Hi, Denis. Tim Evans, shareholder. Just interested if you could elaborate on your comments about the Southeast Queensland concrete market and what's happening there. Also if you can elaborate further on cement pricing and whether you're seeing benefit there, both for yourselves and whether your competitors, including the import terminal, are seeing any of that improvement.
Tim, certainly, if we look at cement, the whole cement industry went through a significant disruption about 18 months ago, driven by the behavior of one of our customers and competitors, unfortunately. We seem to be over that hurdle, but there was, you know, a significant amount of value destroyed in our industry through that period, and that will take, you know, a long time to come back.
If we look at our cement business, we are extremely busy. We're not at capacity, but we are extremely busy. You know, the market is quite strong. The prices are relatively stable, and we don't see them, you know, really taking a big leap forward or backwards in the foreseeable future. That will depend a lot on industry behavior. Concrete is a bit different.
Our concrete business has been growing after the last few years. You can see it month on month, we're sort of increasing volume. Pricing is very sort of average. To put some perspective around it, to buy a cubic meter of concrete in Sydney or Melbourne, the same product in Brisbane is about AUD 100 a meter cheaper.
That's the difference, you know. Again, we put that down to industry behavior. I think that will change in time. You know, we're going through a boom period, and everyone's sort of doing it for nothing, and I'm not sure how long that is really sustainable from an industry perspective.
The other challenge, not so much for us, but others in the industry, Southern Cross Cement put in a terminal about 18 months ago. My understanding is that the majority of shareholders in that business are buying their cement elsewhere so that you know, the understanding is the terminal hasn't been overly successful.
Again, the industry talk is that by Christmas, they will probably mothball that asset. It will be interesting to see how that changes the dynamics in the industry. You know, I can't say that stuff with really too much authority, but that is certainly the industry talk.
Wagner's puts a lot of emphasis on their sustainability objectives, and the low-carbon concrete is a terrific example of that and is certainly a step in the right direction. It appears that a lot of the contracts for haulage and things that you're referring to obliquely are for the Adani Carmichael coal mine.
Could you confirm whether that's actually correct, what nature of services are provided to the Adani Carmichael coal mine? Secondly, how has that affected the value of the shareholdings in the company in the sense that people are reluctant to invest in a company that works directly for Adani?
I'll start, and then I'll pass over to Cameron to give you a spread of the, you know, our contract position, particularly our transport business. We actually have no shame in working for Adani. There is a number of different views.
People seem to have this view they don't like Adani or don't like coal, but there is a number of other coal mines in this state and in this country that have started or operating that haven't been subject to the same denigration as the Adani people have.
If you look at it on a broader picture and, you know, if through that operation, you know, there is people in third world countries that can be provided electricity and increase their standard of living, you know, who knows what that may do.
You know, in essence, overall, Adani has been a really positive project for Wagner's. I'll pass over to Cameron to answer the second part of your question.
If you look at the spread of work that we perform, particularly across the resource sector, we have two projects that are related to coal, one or both of them in Central Queensland. Then if you look at it in the minerals sector, we work on seven or eight different other project sites. We have a very small footprint in relation to coal.
In fact, the Adani work that we're currently doing out there is actually road construction work. We're currently involved in upgrading a road that actually belongs to the Clermont Shire. We're crushing gravel and supplying gravel to a road infrastructure project owned by the council. It ultimately benefits all the road users on that corridor.
That's our exposure, and that's where we're at regarding associated works with coal. One operation with the Glencore group, one operation with the Adani Group, both excellent customers, and we're very grateful for their business.
...Was whether that had affected people's appetite to purchase shares of the company? Shall I say it again? Sorry. The second part of my question was whether the linkage to Adani had affected people's appetite to purchase shares in the company.
Well, there's a lot of people sitting in the room today that it probably hasn't worried, but that's really a question for shareholders on an individual basis. I have certainly not spoken to anyone that said they would not buy a share in Wagner's because of some of our customers or because of any of our customers.
In view of the government's commitment to a zero net emissions by 2050, does your EFC put you on the front foot? Do you see a need for more development in that area? Is there a willingness by your customers to use that concrete with the certification and the quality to meet standards?
Again, I will answer the question, but I'll give Cameron the opportunity to talk about it as well, if that's okay. It does put us on the front foot. If you look at one cubic meter of EFC versus OPC concrete, there is a huge carbon saving. There needs to be a desire, though, from customers to use it. We are supplying local builders.
We're supplying some local infrastructure projects. The real growth and the customers that are really valuing that low carbon technology we are finding are offshore, U.K. and Germany and Europe in particular. They place much more value on the reduced carbon emissions than the Australian market does. We think the Australian market will catch up, and we certainly hope the government catches up.
There would be huge carbon savings to be had if the government were to use that product on projects such as Western Sydney Airport, where there is huge amounts of concrete. I'll pass over to Cameron just to talk about some of the finer points of EFC.
Importantly for us, I think, is the traction we're receiving across Europe, particularly in London, where we batch this product and deliver it to consumers. Well, we don't batch it. We supply the product to concrete batch plants that then deliver to their consumers every day.
We called out a good 12 months ago now our agreement with an organization there called Keltbray in London, and they intend at COP26 in Glasgow next week, I think, to announce that partnership and announce their commitment to our Earth Friendly Concrete purely based on its carbon-reducing technology. So we intend to have representation there to support their announcement of our product. It's certainly the right time for us to be accelerating and investing in this technology.
It's absolutely the right time to get cracking with it overseas now. Unfortunately, the Australian market is a little bit behind that European market, so we've really turned our focus, and we have four people today spread across Europe, developing relationships with end users and are supporting the batchers that are making the concrete. We're very excited about this space.
We have a question over here.
Thank you, there's been a number of publications referring to the traditional owners of the Adani Carmichael area. How does Wagner's feel about working on projects that don't have the free, prior, and informed consent of the traditional owners as is occurring at the Adani site?
I'm certainly not aware of that or of that being actually factual. If you've, you know, read it in the newspaper-
It's been referred to in a number of the newspapers, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC, and The Guardian.
Right.
Just to name a few.
If we start believing everything we read in the newspapers, God help us, so.
I think
As I said before.
These are the reputable newspapers, not the Murdoch press.
Right. Well, as I've said before, we're actually here to talk about Wagner's, not Adani.
Well, you are hand in hand with Adani, working on their Carmichael project.
Adani-
As you are well aware.
Thanks for your comments, but Adani is a customer, and we are not going to talk about their business at our AGM.
It is also your business.
Well, our business is crushing gravel and building roads. On that project, it's going fairly well. Any other questions? Karen, is there any online?
We do have one audio question from a shareholder online, from Howard Creamer regarding current projects. Howard, the line should be open to you.
How are you?
Okay.
Right. Well, in the absence of no further questions, can we come back to Howard if he comes back online? If he comes back online. He's not making a lot of sense at the moment, so. Yeah, the purpose of resolution one is to seek shareholder approval for the adoption of the remuneration report contained in the company's 2021 annual report, which was released to the market on the 25th of August 2021.
Resolution one asks shareholders to consider, and if in favor, to pass the resolution under Section 250R(2) of the Corporations Act, that the remuneration report be adopted. This resolution is a requirement of the Corporations Act and requires that the company's members vote on whether or not the remuneration report should be adopted.
However, this vote is advisory only and not binding on the directors of the company. Proxies received in relation to this item are displayed on the screen. I remind shareholders that the company will disregard votes cast by key management personnel and their closely related parties as set out in the notice of meeting and the explanatory memorandum. I now invite shareholders to ask or comment on questions on the remuneration report. Are there any comments or questions in relation to this resolution from the floor? Are there any comments or questions in relation to this resolution online?
No, there's no questions online. Thanks, Denis.
We'll now move on to resolution two. Resolution two seeks approval that Ms. Lynda O'Grady, who retires in accordance with Listing Rule 14.4 and Rule 19.3(b) of the company's constitution, and being eligible, be re-elected as a director of the company. Rule 19.3(b) of the constitution provides that no director who is not a managing director may hold office without re-election beyond the third AGM following the meeting at which the director was last elected or re-elected.
Listing Rule 14.5 also provides that a director, other than a managing director, must not hold office past the third annual general meeting following the director's appointment or three years, whichever is longer. Ms. Lynda O'Grady last stood for re-election at the company's 2018 annual general meeting.
Accordingly, she will retire from office under Listing Rule 14.4 and Rule 19.3(b) of the Constitution and stand for re-election. Lynda was first appointed as a director of Wagner's Holding Company Limited in December 2017. Previously, Lynda has held executive director roles at Telstra, including Chief of Products. Prior to this, Lynda was Commercial Director of Australian Consolidated Press and General Manager of Alcatel Australia.
She was an inaugural Chairman of the Aged Care Financing Authority and is a member of the Advisory Board of the Jamieson Coote Bonds. She is also currently a director of Domino's Pizza Enterprises Limited, Rubicon Water Limited, Avant Group, and Musica Viva. Lynda has made a significant contribution at a board level to Wagner's over the last four years.
In particular, Lynda has brought her deep technology, product, and market development skills to the strategic issues, especially for our technology businesses. Lynda also chairs our Remuneration Committee. In her role as a member of our board, she has been quite forthright in challenging the discussion and the thinking on the direction and strategy of the company. Her input has always been considered, concise, and thought-provoking.
Proxies received in relation to this resolution are now displayed on the screen. As set out in the notice of meeting, the directors, other than Lynda, who will abstain from making a recommendation on this resolution, recommend that you vote in favor of resolution two. Are there any comments or questions on this resolution from the floor? Are there any comments or questions in relation to this resolution from our shareholders online?
No, there's not, Denis. Given this is our last resolution, we might try Howard again, and I'll just open the line to Howard.
Howard's question or any comments or questions.
Yes, I'd like to ask my question.
[Crosstalk
Howard, if you can just resubmit your question in written form online, we can then address that for you.
Can't I ask it in person? Hello?
Howard.
Yes.
Online, we can then address that for you.
I don't get a chance to ask in person?
ask it in person. Hello?
It's not working very well, is it?
All right. We still don't have a question from Howard, so we will move on. Given resolution two was the last resolution to be considered, I will shortly close the poll. If you have not yet voted or wish to change your vote, having had the opportunity to hear questions and the response to those questions, please do so now. I will pause the meeting for 30 seconds to allow shareholders to finalize their votes.
That concludes the formal business of the meeting, and I now declare the poll has closed. There being no further business, I also now declare the annual general meeting for 2021 closed. Based on the proxies received prior to the meeting and displayed throughout the meeting, it would appear that both resolutions will pass.
Once the votes have been counted and the final results of the poll will be released to the ASX and published on our website. Thank you all for your attendance and interest, and we look forward to your continued support in the coming year. Please feel free to stay and enjoy the hospitality and meet the board and management of Wagner's Holding Company Limited. Thank you.